Ottawa Granite Blog & News

‘Heavy’ Facts about Granite Countertops in Ottawa—Weight Aside

It took the removal of over 800 million pounds of stone, mostly granite, to carve the heads of four great U.S. presidents on Mount Rushmore in South Dakota. If those pounds of stone consisted purely of granite, there would probably be enough countertops for millions of homes across Canada. The standard granite countertops in Ottawa homes, such as those distributed by TNT Tile and Marble, weigh between 20 and 30 pounds per square foot

Granite is heavy, no doubt about that, but weight is just one aspect of this stone. Granite made into countertops in Ottawa is also very durable and elegant. It took the Earth billions of years to form the granite that homeowners now use in their kitchens and bathrooms. It will take the Earth nearly the same length of time to replenish the granite lost. Here are a few more “heavy,” if not more interesting, facts about this precious rock.

Bring it on, Marianas

At 11 kilometers deep, the Marianas Trench is the deepest part of the world’s oceans—and deep trenches usually mean crushing forces. Even U.S. Navy submarines go no deeper than 400 meters. If they were to try, the vessel (and its crew) will be squished by the crushing pressure of the Marianas Trench, which is rated at 108.59 MPa (15,750 psi).

But not granite, which can amazingly, withstand compression pressures of up to 300 MPa (43,511 psi)—almost three times as much pressure as the Marianas. That’s how strong granite is; people could probably travel into the trench in a submarine made of granite, but the weight would drag everything down.

Take the heat

Being an igneous rock, granite is no stranger to extreme heat. Igneous rocks start off as really hot magma; pressure then pushes this magma toward cooler rock, forming granite rock, among other things. This is the granite which is quarried, cut, and processed to produce granite countertops in Ottawa.

According to the Marble Institute of America, granite can tolerate temperatures of up to 250 degrees Celsius. However, experts do not recommend exposing granite countertops to direct sources of heat or fire. House fires can reach well beyond the tolerable level of heat for granite.

Older than you

As it took the Earth a long time to form granite, so countertops made from this rock can be quite an heirloom, outliving many family generations.